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Resident urges Lowell City Council to keep local wastewater plant ahead of Jan. 31 meeting
Summary
At public comment, resident Richard Lynch said city reports understate the wastewater plant's revenue by misapplying grant funds to the water department and urged the council not to transfer the plant to Two Rivers; council approved a budget amendment to accept a wastewater planning grant.
At the Jan. 14 Lowell City Council meeting, resident Richard Lynch urged the council to retain the city's wastewater treatment plant and warned that transferring operations to Two Rivers would saddle Lowell with higher charges and lost local revenue.
——Richard Lynch, 63 White Drive, said the city's budget report incorrectly shifted a wastewater preconstruction planning grant into the water department, producing an apparent $95,000 operating loss for the sewer fund. ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————"If you take this number here . . . it gives you a total revenue of $18,000," Lynch said, arguing that when the correct grant receipts and major expense items are accounted for the plant has historically produced annual profits in the mid-to-high hundreds of thousands. "We're going to lose 300, 400,000 a year in revenue" if Lowell relinquishes the plant, he said.
Lynch also warned that if Two Rivers assumes treatment operations, "they're going to charge us back for sewage" after major storms because runoff would pass through their system, creating additional costs for Lowell residents.
Council members and staff addressed related items during the meeting. The council approved Budget Amendment No. 4 to accept a wastewater preconstruction planning grant described on the record as a $45,000 award to be billed through the state. Tyler, the interim city manager, presented the amendment and said the grant receipts were coming in later in the accounting cycle.
The council did not vote on any transfer of the wastewater plant at the Jan. 14 meeting. Lynch told the council that the public is welcome to a special meeting about the wastewater plant on Jan. 31 and urged citizens to attend and review the financials before any decision.
Why it matters: The plant is tied to local revenue, capital needs and the city's control over sewer rates. Residents who spoke at the meeting said they want full financial transparency before any change in operations.
What's next: The council formally accepted the planning grant amendment on Jan. 14 and has scheduled a special meeting for Jan. 31 to discuss the wastewater treatment plant. Public comment at that meeting is expected to focus on the figures Lynch described.
